The FF Tactics Story
by Sanoon
Summary: This is my first FF Tactics story, even though this has nothing to do with FF Tactics. It's more like 8bit theatre. It is about a black mage, a rouge, and a few other characters. Please read and review. All OC
1. The Mage Town of Gilshire

Hello everyone. This is my first Final Fantasy story. The character types are from Final Fantasy Tactics. I'm hoping for this to be a good comedy and action fic.

Disclaimer – I don't own…ahh…anything about anything Final Fantasy. I WISH I WAS A BLACK MAGE!

* * *

The FF Tactics Story

By Sanoon and friends

Chapter 1: The Mage Town of Gilshire

Two lone figures were walking through the woods, trying to reach their next destination. The town of Gilshire. One, a Black Mage who was simply known as Black Mage, wore the simple black mage outfit. Blue robes, a straw hat, and a magical enchanted staff. Like most black mages, the only part of his face you could see were the two bright yellow eyes. The other was a rouge who was known as Rouge, and he wore the same that thieves normally wore. He did have s special vest that allowed him to carry more items that he 'acquires' from 'special transactions.' They were an odd lot, and really didn't like each other very well. They only stayed together because of one thing. They needed each other's skills. The rouge couldn't handle large battles, and the Black Mage would have a considerably hard time finding enough cash on his own.

"Do you know where we are going?" Rouge asked after about an hour of endless wondering.

"Of course I know where we are going," Black Mage responded in low, annoyed tone.

"Are you sure?" Rouge asked again. "Because we've been wondering around for hours."

"I told you, I know where we are going," Black Mage said in a seriously annoyed tone. "The only way to reach this town is through a magically enchanted barrier that hides it from the world."

"Yeah," Rouge said slowly. "Do we really have to go here? I know you want to go to this whole mage town, but…just dealing with you is painful enough. I don't want to have to deal with another hundred of you."

"As long as you don't try to steal anything from them…then you should be fine," Black Mage responded in a low tone.

"Alright," Rouge said as Black Mage stopped walking. Rouge continued on walking and started to ask, "What are you do-," before he was cut off when he ran into an invisible barrier.

"Ahh, we're here," Black Mage said, somewhat amused at Rouge's discomfort.

"You waited for me to hit the barrier, didn't you?" Rouge asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Yes, yes I did," Black Mage said happily, examining the barrier. Unlike Rouge, Black Mage could see the barrier very well. It was casted hundreds of years to keep out non-magical types. Because of that, only people with magic running through their veins can see the barrier.

Rouge watched Black Mage examine nothing for a few minutes before he asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Quite," Black Mage quickly responded. After another minute, Black Mage stuck his staff into the ground and touched the barrier. He started chanting something that Rouge couldn't understand. When Black Mage stopped, he picked up his staff, and started walking through the barrier. The forest seemed to ripple as he walked through. After starting at the spot where Black Mage disappeared through for a few seconds, Rouge started to follow him through the barrier, but stopped when he ran into it.

"Ow," Rouge said rubbing his nose. "I thought you opened it!"

"I did," Black Mage responded from the other side of the barrier. Although Rouge couldn't see him, he could still hear him. "It's to your left." Rouge took two steps to his left and walked foreword again. He, again, hit the barrier. "Too far left," Black Mage said quietly. Rouge took one step to his right, and walked foreword. Again, he hit the barrier. "I was joking," Black Mage said, very amused. "I didn't actually open the barrier for you."

Rouge rubbed his face, and came up with an idea. There was no way in hell he would _ask_ for Black Mage to open the barrier, so he would try a different trick. "I think this barrier stops our item sharing, because I have your half of the gold," Rouge said to the wilderness before him. The barrier opened up and Black Mage grabbed Rouge's arm and pulled him in. "I thought that would work," Rouge said after he was through the barrier.

The view changed quickly after they entered the barrier. On the outside, all you could see was endless forests, but inside the barrier, was beautiful town. The town roads were paved with cobblestone, and were lined with green elm trees, and small shrubs. All the buildings were made out of limestone or marble. All these were the signs of a very rich city, something that made Rouge's mouth drool.

"Don't even think about it," Black Mage said quietly after noticing Rouge's expression towards the city. "These are some of the most powerful mages around. I can't protect you from them."

"Gotcha," Rouge said blankly. Black Mage sighed. They both walked into the town. Some of the guards eyed Rouge angrily, almost as if they already knew the mischief he would inevitably cause. They both reached the town square. The only type of people that were seen walking around were black mages, white mages, time mages, red mages, and even summoners. Anyone mage really.

"I'm going into the library," Black Mage said quietly. "Don't follow me," he added. With that, Black Mage walked through the library doors. Rouge looked around. He looked around at the mages walking around the streets. He would get killed if he tried to steal from them. He would have to find a small shop that hardly anybody would go to.

After a while of searching, he found a small shop that nobody seemed to be going to, and he knew why. It was a weapons and armour shop. Earlier, Rouge had seen a magical shop that was loaded with people, but this place was bare. "Why is there a weapons and armour shop in a town full of mages?" Rouge whispered to himself.

Rouge entered the shop. To his surprise, the shopkeeper was asleep at the desk. Rouge took advantage of this opportunity to try to see if anything was worth taking. He saw many swords that seemed to have many magical enhancements, and many sets of armour that looked to be made out of a rare type of metal, and were lined with gold. He knew that he would enjoy stealing this stuff, that is, until the shopkeeper woke up. He yawned, and saw Rouge. "Holy crap, are you an actual customer?" the shopkeeper said in surprise, perking up immediately from what seemed to be a short nap. The shopkeeper rubbed his eyes, and realized that he was an actual person. "What can I do for you?"

"Ahh," Rouge said slowly, putting down a display sword that he was about to steal. "Do you have anything in the back that you can show me…that isn't in the front?" Rouge asked, hoping to get the man to leave the room.

"Sorry man," the shopkeeper said. "All of my inventory is in this room. This is the entire selection."

"Awesome," Rouge said quietly to himself. "Ahh, hey…What's that?" Rouge asked, pointing at the window, hoping to draw the shopkeeper's attention away from him.

"Ohh, that old thing," the shopkeeper said, nodding at the window. "It's one of my most important defenses here."

"You don't say," Rouge said with fake interest. "Why is that?"

"Well," the shopkeeper began, diverting all of his attention to the window. "It is a magically enchanted window. It electrocutes anyone who gets close to it."

"Really," Rouge said, with fake interest. "How did that come to be?"

"Well," the shopkeeper said, taking a big breath. "A long time ago, there was a powerful wizard that lived in this very house. He was always annoyed with the other people of the town who were always peeking through his side window, that he decided to give his window, extra, powerful enhancements to help keep annoying neighbors away. It worked too well though, and killed the first few who looked through the window. Because of this, no one bought the house after he died. That is until I came along. The town has almost excluded this little house from the community though."

Every now and then, Rouge would say, "Really," and, "You don't say," to keep up the act that he was interested. That is, until he snuck out of the shop while the shopkeeper was still rambling on about his magical window.

The shopkeeper looked away from his window, and saw his store bare, and deserted. Everything was ripped from the shelves. There wasn't a single blade left. "Crap," the shopkeeper said, drooping his head. "Theirs a thief in town. Time to alert the city's guards."

* * *

Tah Dah. There's chapter one. Short, I know, but I decided to have the Black Mages tale next chapter, and I though now was a good cut-off point. Ohh, and I haven't read any stories from the Final Fantasy Tactics section. I do love the game though. I don't know if Gilshire is a real town in that game or not. I just guessed a name. I also don't know if the term 'item sharing' is actually used, but here, it means that anyone who forms a party can share ALL of their items with each other. Tell me what you think of the story. Flame me if you want, but make sure it's constructive criticism. Anything else I'll ignore, but I do love good comments. 


	2. The Mage Assassin

Hello again. It's come to my attention that this story will be more of a mixture of some of the things from some other Final Fantasy games. Here's another scene of comedy. Enjoy.

Disclaimer – I don't own anything Final Fantasy.

* * *

The FF Tactics Story

By Sanoon and friends

Chapter 2: The Mage Assassin

Black Mage walked through the library's door. It was a massive building, lined with thousands upon thousands of books. At the time, there weren't that many people in the building. Black Mage walked over to one of the many aisles, and started looking through the books on the shelves.

"_Human Torch_, no…_Lighting Houses on Fire_, already know how…_Burning down a Town: A Raider's Story_, maybe later," Black Mage muttered to himself as he looked at the books in the aisle. "None of these books are what I'm searching for." Black Mage moved to another aisle and examined the books there. "_Reviving the Fallen_, no need…_Holy Magic for the Masses_, not a chance…_Curing Fire Wounds_, why bother?" Black Mage again whispered to himself. He headed to another aisle, skipped over it because someone was already in the aisle, and found another empty aisle to search through. "_Raising the Dead_, not my thing…_How to Control Skeletons_, eh, wrong aisle." Black Mage once again began searching through another aisle. "_Black Mages Can Be Nice_, yeah, right…_A Black Mages Perfect Women,_ close…_How to Be Nice to Girls: A Black Mages Story_, found it," Black Mage said quietly to himself, picking up the book.

He walked over to the librarian's desk and placed the book on the counter. She looked at the book, and then at Black Mage and said happily, "Found a girl did you?"

"Don't say anything," Black Mage said quickly. "Can I just buy the book? I have a feeling I won't be coming back here anytime soon."

"Ohh, I know what you mean," the librarian said giggling.

"No, you don't," Black Mage responded somewhat angrily.

"If you want to buy it, then it'll be 1200 Gil," the librarian said happily.

"1200 Gil!" Black Mage said angrily. "That's outrageous. How about 500?"

"It's 1200," the librarian said, removing the smile from her face, and replacing it with an angry smirk. "Take it or leave it. This is a very rare book. It's hard to find anywhere else."

After a few seconds of angry thought, Black Mage made a decision. "Fine," Black Mage said angrily. He paid her the 1200 Gil, and took the book. As Black Mage was at the doors, he whispered, "Hope you're house burns down."

Black Mage was out in the city square again. Now he had to wait for Rouge…wherever the hell he was. Knowing him, he probably found some shop in the alleyways and robbed it. He decided to wait in the square. If Rouge did steal something, he would either A) find him, or B) get caught and cause a whole town disturbance. He stood next to a tree with leaves that kept changing from pink to red, to blue, to violet.

He was standing there for a few minutes before someone bumped into his back. He heard a thud on the ground behind him. Black Mage quickly turned around. "Watch where you're going," Black Mage said angrily. He looked at the person who bumped into him. It was a girl in an assassin outfit. She was in pure black clothes, and she had very small assassin daggers.

"Sorry," The girl said in an annoyed tone. She held her hand out for Black Mage to help her get up, to no avail. Black Mage stood there watching her. "Hey, did you know you have yellow eyes?" She asked still sitting on the grass.

Black Mage turned around and…found her standing in front of him. "What the hell?" He said quickly, turning his head to look at where the girl once was, but the space was unoccupied. He looked back at the girl.

"Why are you're eyes yellow?" the girl asked.

"Go away." Black Mage said quickly, turning around. Again, the girl was standing in front of him. "How the hell do you do that?"

"Ohh, I'm _very_ fast, and _very_ sneaky," the girl said, almost giggling.

"Obviously," Black Mage said. "Why don't you go…wait a minute," Black Mage said quickly realizing something.

"Okay," the girl said quickly.

"Do you have any form of magic in you?" Black Mage asked.

"No," the girl said happily. "Nothing magical about me, except for my almost magical ability to kill mages. I think it's funny."

"Okay," Black Mage said slowly, taking two footsteps away from the girl. She quickly took two footsteps foreword. "How did you get in here?"

"Well, don't tell anyone this, okay," the girl said. Black Mage cocked an eyebrow, not that anyone could notice though. "I was hired to kill this one mage a while ago, so I followed him through the barrier. Afterwards, I completed my mission, but I found out I couldn't leave through the barrier. So I've been stuck here ever since. You won't tell anyone, will you?" She asked the last part as she showed Black Mage one of her assassin blades.

Black Mage ignored her threat, and just slowly asked, "Why would you even tell me that?"

"I feel like I can trust you," the girl said. "I feel like you're the one who will help me out of this town."

"And why would I do that?" Black Mage asked.

"Because _I'm_ a mage assassin. If you don't, then…" the girl said, pulling out one of her daggers and slicing the air around her.

"Fine," Black Mage said slowly. "I'll…_help_, you escape once we find my…friend," Black Mage spit out the last word.

The two stood there for a few minutes before a man dressed like a black mage quickly walked up. "Hey Black Mage…we gotta go," the man said.

"What the hell did I tell you about stealing from this town?" Black Mage said angrily.

"You didn't say anything, at least anything I heard. Who's that?" Rouge asked, addressing the girl with him.

"That's not important. Why are dressed like a-" Black Mage began to ask.

"I mean now," Rouge said, running towards the town's exit. Black Mage and the girl quickly followed him out.

They reached the barrier. Unlike how there was an illusion on the outside of the barrier, the inside was clear. They could see the forests outside the barrier. Black Mage placed his staff into the ground, and began to chant the same thing as earlier.

"What are you doing?" The girl asked.

"What'd he do to you to make you follow him?" Rouge asked the new girl.

"We actually know each other," the girl lied. "We're longtime friends."

After a few seconds of though, Rouge replied, "That's a horrible lie. Black Mage isn't capable of making friends."

"Really?" the girl asked, somewhat confused. "What about you?"

"Were not friends," Black Mage said, picking up his staff from the ground. "The barriers open." Black Mage and the girl both walked through the barrier, but as Rouge tried to pass through, he hit the barrier….again.

"DAMN IT!" Rouge shouted from the other side. All Rouge heard was laughing.

"That's funny," the girl said after she stopped laughing.

"No…it isn't," Rouge yelled. "But what is funny is this book Black Mage got." The barrier instantly opened up, and Black Mage walked through and grabbed the book out of Rouge's hand, as the assassin snickered.

Black Mage walked back out of the barrier, and announced to the girl, "Assassin, Rouge," gesturing to each one, "Rouge, assassin."

"Hey, Black Mage," Rouge said, almost laughing as he walked out of the barrier. "That's the first step in this book you got. Introductions. Glad to know you're off to a good start."

* * *

Tah-Dah! Chapter two is over. If you're wondering if this story will go anywhere…it won't. I don't plan on having some, super-human, unbelievably strong and powerful cliché boss character. This is just a tale in the lives of four people. You've already read about three. Thanks for reading, now review…please? 


	3. Crap, They Found Us!

Hello everyone, and thanks for those few of you who actually are reading this. The fight in this scene will not follow FF Tactics procedure. In fact, I think that the only thing that is related to FF Tactics in this story is the title. Wait, wait…I got it…FanFiction Tactics. LOL!

* * *

The FF Tactics Story

By Sanoon and friends

Chapter 3: Crap, They Found Us!

The three were walking away from Gilshire. Mage Assassin was walking pretty close to Black Mage, which he found to be _very_ uncomfortable. Every time he tried to take a step away from her, she quickly closed the gap. It didn't help that she kept smiling at him and laughing. He had half the mind to blow her to oblivion right then and there. Rouge, on the other hand, was walking ahead of the group. He had changed out of the mage robes he stole, and was back into his regular outfit. He wanted to get as far away from Gilshire as quick as possible. The more distance from the town, the better. Every now and then, he would turn to Black Mage, and make a comment about him and Mage Assassin. His comments quickly received criticism from Black Mage, and laughter from Mage Assassin.

"Hey, Rouge," Mage Assassin said after they were a mile away from the town. "Why are you walking so fast? Are you trying to get rid of some extra energy?"

"Ahh, no," Rouge said slowly, stopping to face the town behind them. The group was in a small clearing, with a small stream that was connected to one side of the dirt trail.

"Then why are you walking so fast?" Mage Assassin asked.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Black Mage almost shouted at Mage Assassin. "He's a thief."

"Rouge," Rouge corrected.

"Like it matters," Black Mage said. "He stole from the town," Black Mage said to Mage Assassin, "and they must have caught on. And where did you get those Black Mage robes from?"

"Well, to get away from the guards, I had to get a new disguise," Rouge said as he leaned against a tree. Mage Assassin stared at Rouge in wonder. She looked like this was the most interesting story she had every heard in her life, which is strange, because in her line of work, she should have some stranger stories of her own. "I looked around as I was running through the alleyways, and I found a few Mages who were drinking some powerful liquor." Rouge pulled out a liquor bottle from his vest. "Yeah, this is very powerful stuff."

"You took beer from a group of drunks?" Black Mage asked, somewhat confused at Rouges thinking.

"Liquor, hello? Anyway," Rouge continued, ignoring Black Mages question. "I managed to trick one of them into giving me their clothes. They quickly realized what I did, and started chasing me. That didn't last long though, because they started falling over when they reached the end of the alleyway."

"That was an awesome story, thief-man," Mage Assassin shouted in an almost drunk fashion.

"Say, Black Mage," Rouge said, addressing Black Mages attention to himself. "Who is this girl, and why is she following us?"

"Hell if I know," Black Mage replied as he turned his attention to Mage Assassin. She was sitting down on the ground, observing some flowers. "Hey, Assassin, who are you, and why are you following us.

Mage Assassin looked up from the flowers, jumped up, fell over, jumped up again, and pointed to her chest and announced proudly, "I am the one and only Great Melissa the Mage Assassin. I am following you because of our deal."

"If I remember correctly," Black Mage said, rubbing his chin, "our agreement was to get you past the barrier. That's done, and now I think you should leave."

"_We_ think you should leave," Rouge corrected.

"Why?" Melissa asked sadly. "We can have lots of fun together, and we can kill things together, and loot things together. Plus, who doesn't want a Mage Assassin in their party?"

Black Mage and Rouge looked at each other, and both frowned. They both looked back at Melissa, and Black Mage said in an annoyed tone, "Ohh, I don't know, maybe a party with a MAGE in it."

They would have continued their discussion, but they heard another voice in the distance. "There he is! He's the one who stole from me!"

The group looked at the four figures that were walking into the clearing that the group was in. "Ohh, crap," Rouge said slowly. "They found us. Mage, you're going to have to teleport us out of here."

"You're kidding right?" Black Mage asked, somewhat annoyed. "You KNOW that I can only teleport 50 feet every time. I still need practice with that skill."

"Crap," Rouge replied, drooping his head.

An evil grin made it's way onto Melissa's face. She looked at the four angry people who were dangerously, yet cautiously, making their way towards Black Mage and Rouge. "Since you won't let me be in your party, I guess I can't help you with these mages," Melissa said quite calmly and evilly.

Black Mage growled, and what seemed to be shaking in anger. "Fine!" Black Mage shouted. "You can come with us. Just take care of the mages, I'll concentrate on the guards, and Rouge will-" Black Mage said, stopping himself when he turned to tell Rouge what to do, and finding that he had already vanished. "You little prick," Black Mage muttered under his breath. He looked back to Melissa, and found that she had vanished too. The four were now advancing on him.

Health Point Value  
Black Mage – 4056 HP  
Rouge – 4264 HP  
Melissa – 4123 HP

First Town Guard – 3424 HP  
Second Town Guard – 3452 HP  
First Town Mage – 2456 HP  
Second Town Mage – 2647 HP

Black Mage started to gather the energy needed to cast a fire spell, and it seemed the other mages were doing the same. The guards were slowly advancing. Before the other mages could cast their spells, a few rocks hit them, directing their attention towards Melissa, who was sitting in the branches of a small tree nearby.

(This may be a bit confusing, so here's the guide. Damage is already deducted from the health bar, so you don't have to figure it out.  
Name: Current HP / Max HP - Damage Received)  
First Town Mage – 2450 / 2456 HP - 6 HP  
Second Town Mage – 2643 / 2647 HP - 5 HP

The two mages fired their fireballs at the tree. It completely lit aflame upon contact. Melissa's great agility was too fast for them though. She quickly jumped out of the tree, and disappeared into another. The two mages ran off into the woods to chase her. Black Mage, however, casted his fire spell at the two guards. The fire glided through the air, and made contact with the guards. They both screamed in pain as the fire engulfed them for a second before extinguishing itself.

First Town Guard – 2869 / 3424 HP - 555 HP  
Second Town Guard – 2913 / 3452 HP - 539 HP

The guard recovered quickly, and charged Black Mage. Black Mage quickly pulled out his staff, and prepared to defend himself from the swords that the guards carried. The first guard tried to slice Black Mage in half, but his staff blocked it. The other one tried the same attack, but it had the same outcome. The first guard tried a vertical slice, but Black Mage sidestepped it, and swung his staff at the guard's side. It connected, and started to burn the flesh around the contact point.

First Town Guard – 2809 / 3424 HP – 60 HP

Black Mages staff is a rare staff that he received from a dragon. The staff was appropriately dubbed for its appearance and power, 'The Red Staff of the Dragon'. It amplified all of his flame spells, and gave his rod fire damage. Anything that Black Mage hit would start to feel like it was burning, and the longer the staff was connected, the more it burned.

One of the guards tossed a potion to the other one, and he quickly drank it.

First Town Guard – 3109 / 3424 HP + 300 HP

Black Mage growled in anger and annoyance, and prepared a lightning attack. The guards noticed this, and charged what little distance was between them. Black Mage threw his hands towards the guards, and an electric barrage from Black Mages fingertips quickly flowed through their bodies, causing them to fall over in paralysis. Black Mage took this time to gain a little casting distance from the guards.

First Town Guard – 2753 / 3424 HP – 356 HP  
Second Town Guard – 2568 / 3452 HP – 345 HP

The two got up quickly, and pointed their swords at Black Mage. "You guys just don't give up do you?" He asked as they started charging him. They didn't get very far, because they both fell over as Rouge appeared behind them, and stabbed them in the back for an Assassination move.

First Town Guard – 1319 / 3424 HP – 1434 HP  
Second Town Guard – 1025 / 3452 HP – 1543 HP

Rouge laughed as he pulled his daggers out of the guard's backs, and ran back into the shadows of the forests around them. They both jumped up, and started cursing wildly. They both pulled out a few potions and started downing them. Black Mage stared in anger at their persistence.

First Town Guard – 3124 / 3424 HP + 1805 HP  
Second Town Guard – 2668 / 3452 HP + 1643 HP

"Damn it!" Black Mage shouted at the guards. "How am I supposed to kill you if you keep healing yourselfs?" They both looked at Black Mage, and started laughing at his plight. Or at least that's what they considered it. Black Mage thought differently. His eyes turned a darker shade of yellow, and he jammed his staff into the ground. He threw his hands into the air, and began to chant something. The guards started to charge Black Mage, but they stopped when a bright red light started to form at his hands. They both looked at Black Mage in a worried fashion for a few seconds before they realized that nothing was happening. The looked at each other, shrugged, and continued to charge Black Mage. They didn't go a few feet before they noticed a shadow on the ground, and how it slowly got bigger and bigger. They looked up, and saw a small meteor falling towards them. They didn't have any time to react, as they were crushed under its destructive force.

First Town Guard – 0 / 3424 HP - 3124 HP  
Second Town Guard – 0 / 3452 HP - 2668 HP

Black Mage started to laugh and evil, triumphant laugh. Rouge jumped out of one of the nearby trees, and slowly walked over to Black Mage as he stopped laughing. "Great for you to join me," Black Mage muttered sarcastically as Rouge tried to move the small meteor that crushed the guards.

"I try to help whenever I can," Rouge grunted sarcastically as he tried to push the meteor away. After a few more attempts at trying to move the space rock, Rouge gave up and glanced at Black Mage, who seemed to be enjoying Rouge's struggles. "You wanna help me?" Rouge asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Not really. You can handle this," Black Mage murmured. The leaves of the nearby bushes began to move, and a rustling sound could be heard. One of the town mages ran out of the bushes. His blue robe was stained with blood around his arms.

He ran by Rouge, and growled in anger as he stopped by the opposite tree line. He turned, and charged up an ice spell. Rouge darted for the bushes for safety, and Black Mage started preparing a spell of his own, A few moments passed before a small knife flew out from the tree line, and implanted itself into the mages face.

First Town Mage 0 / 2456 HP – 479 HP

It didn't take long before Rouge was out of the bushes and rummaging through the inventory of the fallen mage. Black Mage didn't move, however. He was examining the tree's to find out where the knife came from. He didn't see anything along the tree line. However, he did hear Rouge almost shouting in glee from his findings on the dead mage. He must have had something valuable on him.

A few daggers flew out of the treetops, and impaled the ground at Black Mage's feet. He grabbed his staff, which was still in the ground, and jumped back. He charged an electrical bolt in his left hand, and held his staff in front of him with his right hand. The figure that was hiding in the treetops back flipped out from the branches. Black Mage sighed in relief, and dissipated the electricity that was gathering in his left arm. "Melissa," he muttered.

Melissa smiled and laughed as she pointed at Black Mage. "You were scared, weren't you?" She laughed as Black Mage growled in anger.

"Where's the other mage?" Black Mage asked.

"He's dead," Melissa replied, laughing triumphantly. "I made his death extra painful for freezing my breasts," she growled, pulling out her bloody knives.

"Really, didn't have to tell me that," Black Mage muttered, glancing over to the mage that Rouge _was_ at.

"He went running off into the woods to find the other mage," Melissa said, as if she knew what Black Mage was thinking.

"That's wonderful," Black Mage growled, walking over to the meteor so he could lean against it. "Now we have to wait for him to finish looting." Black Mage started to think about their next move. They couldn't wait here for very long. More guards would quickly come to find out why the others haven't returned yet. They would have to go to the next town just to get supplies, and to figure out where they can ditch Melissa. It was annoying enough with just Rouge.

Every now and then, Melissa would disrupt Black Mage's thoughts when she would start muttering to herself. Black Mage would just growl in frustration and anger until the noise she made was drowned out.

It was at least a half-an-hour later before Rouge returned with a few bags of gil. Rouge excitedly showed them his lootings. That was after Black Mage chewed him out for taking his time. Melissa congratulated him on his loot excursion. The group quickly gathered up their things, and headed away from the town of Gilshire.

Exp Gained: Current / Next LVL  
Black Mage + 399 104,054 / 104,055  
Rouge + 75 104,173 / 105,999  
Melissa + 358 105, 731 / 107,761

* * *

Tah-Dah. Another chapter done with. This was much longer than the other ones. I don't know if the next chapter will be shorter or longer than this one. Only time will tell. Hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Thanks for reading, now review please. 


	4. Enter Markus

Here's another chapter that makes me wonder why I still have this down as a FF Tactics story. Enjoy.

Disclaimer – I don't own anything Final Fantasy. I only own/use the great personality of thefour main characters.

* * *

The FF Tactics Story  
By Sanoon and friends

Chapter 4: Enter Markus

The group had finally gotten a considerable distance from the town of Gilshire. In fact, they were almost upon the next town. That was their destination, mostly because they needed food. They decided to camp for the night in the forest and head into town the next morning. Around the campfire, Black Mage and Rouge were telling Melissa tales from their previous adventures, adding in as much horror and gore as they could. They did this in hopes to scare her away. It didn't work. In fact, she started telling them stories that made _them_ want to get up and leave.

The next morning, the group was silent as they made their way towards town. They were all in thought. Black Mage was thinking about what to do with Melissa when they reached the town, and how he would one day destroy Rouge with all of his power. Rouge was thinking of all of the stuff he had ever stolen, and was also contemplating how rich he would one day be. Melissa's thoughts were…somewhere. In the distance, the group could see a man walking away from the town. He was armor clad, which meant that he might be a knight. Black Mage and Rouge made a quick glance at each other, a way that they often used to tell each other what they were going to do.

It didn't take long before the man in armor reached the group. "Hello strangers," the man said. "Have you seen a thief that looks like this," he said as he pulled out a small piece of paper that had a crude drawing of Rouge on it. "This man is wanted for theft and murder."

"I didn't kill…" Rouge quickly mumbled before he caught himself, "…I mean, who would do something as horrible as that?" Although no one could see it, Black Mage had been smiling, something that he rarely does.

"Yes, _who_ would do something as horrible as that?" Black Mage said sarcastically.

"There's a big reward for this man," the man said. "He's wanted dead or alive. Same bounty for both, so I'll go with dead."

Rouge silently gulped, as Black Mage tried to direct all of the man's attention towards himself. "So," Black Mage muttered, "When did this bounty come out? I can't imagine it happened all that long ago."

"Oh, it just happened yesterday," the man said calmly. "Come to think of it, your friend looks like the man on this paper," the man said slowly raising the hand that once held the bounty on it. "Hey, what happened to my paper?"

Black Mage just stared at the man, and shrugged his shoulders as Melissa started to laugh in the background. "You'll find it," Black Mage said reassuringly.

"Yeah," the man sighed.

"Say, I never caught your name," Black Mage asked with fake interest.

"Oh, sorry, my bad. I'm the great bounty hunter known as Markus"

"Bounty hunter?" Black Mage questioned.

"Oh, that's like what I do," Melissa said as she ran up to Black Mage. "I take jobs from people, and I make money that way."

"Jobs?" Markus asked.

"Yup, jobs," Melissa repeated.

"You mean like bounty's?" Markus asked.

"Nope," Melissa said calmly, shaking her head. "I'm a Mage Assassin."

Markus looked at Melissa, and then at Black Mage, and started laughing. "What's so funny?" Black Mage asked as a look of confusion drew itself on Melissa's face.

"A mage assassin and a black mage traveling in the same group," Markus said while laughing. "What are the chances?"

"Quiet low actually," Black Mage muttered.

"Hey guys," Rouge said calmly as he came out of the bushes next to the trail. "I'm back. I had to use the restroom."

"Well, I have to go," Markus said. "Maybe I'll see you guys later."

"Probably will," Black Mage muttered. Markus took one last look at Black Mage and Melissa, smirked, and walked off down the trail.

The group started to head for the town. When Markus was a considerable distance away, Black Mage glanced at Rouge and asked, "Wha'd he have?"

"A few swords, some potions, 4235 gil, and that wanted poster," Rouge answered.

"Is that all you guys do?" Melissa asked.

"Pretty much," Rouge answered as they reached the town.

Meanwhile, down the trail, Markus had come to realize something. "Hey, wait a second…that man…he was the same guy that was on the wanted poster…which I can't seem to find anymore. Damn it!"

Back at the town, the group had split up to accomplish their few objectives. Rouge was assigned to get a room at the inn, and Black Mage and Melissa were assigned to find the local market and buy enough food to keep them satisfied during their journeys.

Meanwhile, at the town's entrance. "The guy I'm looking for is a wanted criminal, and there are two others that are traveling with him," Markus announced to the guards. "The man I'm looking for is a thief, and he's accompanied by a black mage and a mage assassin."

"A mage and a mage assassin traveling together," one of the guards said quietly. "Poor, poor mage."

"Haven't seen anyone like them enter," the other guard replied as he shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the other guard's comment.

"But you guys are supposed to keep watch over everyone who passes through those gates!" Markus shouted, pointing to the gates.

"Listen, if you have business in this town, then fine," the other guard said, somewhat angrily. "Just don't interrupt the guards or something bad might happen."

Markus looked at both of the guards, shrugged, and said, "Fine, fine. Whatever. I'll just have to do this by myself, just like always." Markus walked past the two guards and entered the town. As he walked past the gates, he raised his hand into the air and flipped them the bird. The guards didn't see this, but a young group of kids did though. They were all staring at Markus as he walked by. Markus glanced at the kids, and waved. They just continued to stare though. Markus shrugged and continued on.

Markus's quickly headed for the tavern. The tavern looked like it was constructed at least 50 years ago. The boards that consisted of its walls looked worn, and rotten due to weather, or poor care. Ivy was growing on its sides, and the roof looked like it would collapse at any minute. A drunken man was sitting next to the tavern's stoop, unconscious.

"What a crap-hole," Markus said to himself before he went inside. If there was a fugitive in this town, then he might have come here to find a way to clear his name, or escape from any bounty hunters, or to get a drink, or whatever the hell fugitives do at a tavern. Markus was sure of that.

The tavern was filled with dirty low-life thugs who wouldn't hesitate to kill you and take your gil…or they were just coal workers who just got off work. One of the two. Markus was certain it was the first though. He slowly walked over to the bar. He observed everyone that he walked by inconspicuously.

When he got to the bar counter, the bartender glanced over at Markus and asked, "What can I do you for?"

"I'm not gay," Markus replied, causing a few of the people around him to stare at him.

The bartender stared at Markus for a few seconds and shook his head slowly before replying, " I meant, what do you want?"

"Oh, right. Of course," Markus replied quickly, somewhat embarrassed. "I'm looking for a man. He's about 5'-8", and he's wearing a vest and some dark green clothing. He's traveling with a mage, and a mage assassin. Have you seen anyone like that?"

The bartender thought for a few seconds before replying, "Yeah, actually I did see someone like that. He was heading towards east. He might have been heading towards the inn, or the dock. It's funny that a black mage is traveling with a mage assassin though."

"I know, it is funny," Markus replied.

"Why do you ask?" the bartender asked.

"Oh, no reason," Markus replied. "An old acquaintance." The bartender nodded his head and Markus turned around to leave.

"That'll cost you 200 gil for the info," the bartender said evilly, causing Markus to turn around.

"What?" Markus asked, surprised that that simple question would cost him money. "I'm not paying you for that."

"Oh really," the bartender said as he nodded towards the door. Markus glanced behind him and saw two large men standing next to the door. They were covered in armor, and they looked like they could rip a man in half without breaking a sweat. How did he miss these guys coming in?

"You have bouncers?" Markus asked, somewhat confused as to why this crappy tavern had bouncers. The bartender nodded and Markus moaned in annoyance as he gave the bartender 200 gil. Markus turned around, and left the bar angrily. "Pay for unreliable information. What kind of crap is that?" Markus headed east to find the inn and the docks. After five minutes of walking through people infested streets, he reached the inn. Markus walked up to the inn's doors, and opened them in hopes of finding his next big bounty. As fate would have it, Rouge was sitting in a chair, talking to some old guy as he plucked his watch from his pocket.

Markus went to draw his sword, but realized that it was gone. He looked to his other side, and realized that his other sword was gone too. "Damn it!" He shouted, causing everyone in the room to divert their attention towards him. Rouge saw him, and slumped in his seat. Markus pointed at Rouge, and shouted, "You took my swords you crappy little bastard! You're going to die!" Markus bolted for Rouge's chair, but Rouge was too fast. Rouge jumped out of his chair, drew his dagger, and ran out of the inn. Markus wasn't too far behind.

* * *

Sorry for the long wait, but I hope this was worth it. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think. According to one of my friends/revisers, this chapter is Gandhi approved. 


End file.
